(Trinidad Express) FIFA whistle-blower Chuck Blazer is now the one in the hot seat.
Blazer, the man behind Works Minister Jack Warner’s resignation from all things football, is now under Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) inquiry for allegedly hiding a multi-million dollar offshore account.
The FBI, according to international reports, is examining documents appearing to show confidential payments to offshore accounts. The investigations are focused on Blazer’s accounts in the Cayman Islands and Bahamas.
The FBI is examining evidence that payments may have come from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) during the time of Warner’s presidency.
According to international reports, Blazer claimed it was “repayment of a personal loan” from Warner. He later changed his story and claimed Warner may have misused the CFU account. He even said he was willing to repay that money.
Blazer said the multi-million dollar account was funded in an above board manner.
Blazer’s company, a Cayman-based company named Sportvertising, has received US$9.6 million in the past five years. Reports reveal he received ten per cent in commissions from regional football marketing deals.
Some payments are recorded in private CONCACAF accounts, but those payments from CONCACAF have never been disclosed. Sportvertising employs two other people, Blazer’s son and daughter.
In response to the reports and the FBI investigation, Warner said he “was not surprised” that Blazer was under scrutiny.
In a telephone interview yesterday, Warner said all CONCACAF payments were above board and he was not concerned that his name would be called into question in this new scandal.
“The world will finally get to understand what I have been saying all along,” Warner said.
“This is only the beginning. There is a whole lot more to come trust me,” he added.
Warner said he heard Blazer was paying himself a commission and did not renew Blazer’s advertising contract with the CFU for the past six years.
Warner sees this latest round of investigation into the man who sought to bring him down as “just the start”.
“Listen to me carefully, I will have the last laugh in all of this,” he said.
Warner said he doubted the FBI will call him for questioning, but was willing to answer questions on Blazer.
Blazer ignited an investigation into allegations of bribery in the FIFA presidential election two months ago. He claimed Warner was involved in a plot to hand cash payments to CFU officials to vote for Qatar’s Mohamed bin Hammam, who was running against the sitting president, Sepp Blatter.
After the end of the inquiry with FIFA’s ethics committee, bin Hamman was banned for life from all football activities. He is currently appealing the findings.
Warner resigned from FIFA and charges against him were dropped.
